stronger
by tatty ted
Summary: [INSPECTOR WEXFORD] AU. After a beating too many at the hands of her husband, Fay Devenish comes to the conclusion that it is now or never to leave. But maybe the damage is already done. Maybe leaving now would be too late to save them all. - —Fay/Stephen.
1. PROLOGUE

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**PROLOGUE**.  
_you made me strong._

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She's stood at the top of the stairs, the teddy she's never apart from clutched to her chest tightly. Her eyes, bright green and unique are wide in terror and she's sick of hearing her mother and father arguing. Her brothers, Edward and Robert, can't protect her anymore. She can't protect herself, she's too young.

"Sanchia?" Her mother's voice is sweet but as usual, it's full of fear, "Sanchia go hide." There's footsteps up the stairs and her mother takes her hand knowing full well that the youngster cannot communicate. She's petrified into silence through witnessing her mother and father's violent marriage.

Sanchia doesn't make eye contact, just grabs her mother's hand and slowly walks into the bedroom. It's in there that Fay tucks up her only daughter, kisses her head and whispers, sleep tight.

Irony at its best, she thinks when she goes to the door. Fay knows her daughter won't sleep well, if at all with those two knocking ten bells out of each other. She closes the bedroom door and walks to the top of the stairs. She stares down at the bottom and wonders about throwing herself down them.

If she did that though, he'd definitely turn his attention to Sanchia.

She hears the tiny patter of footsteps along the landing and sees her two sons, twelve and ten. They smile at their mother and the oldest replies; "We'll look after her." Together it's their distraction technique. They read her stories and play games with her whilst downstairs, their mother screams in pain everytime their father hits her.

She's grateful she has her two boys, "Thank you boys." She whispers and begins to walk downstairs, knowing what's waiting for her at the bottom.

/

Her whole body aches all over. Its broken and bruised and black and blue. She's lying face down on the living room fllor and she doesn't even know what time it is, where her children are or where it hurts the most.

She sits up, groaning in pain as she does. She knows she's probably broken a couple of ribs, he always managed to break her ribs. She manages to sit up and she looks around the living room, pictureing the broken glass and picture frames everywhere.

She sighs.

She feels a trail of something running along her cheek and she presses her palm against her cheek. On her palm there's blood and she wonders how deep the cut is this time. Last time she had no choice but to take herself off to the hospital where she lied that she'd drunkenly fallen down the stairs.

None of the Doctors or Nurses' questioned it. They like many others simply believed her lies, patched her up and prayed she wouldn't return.

She always did under a different alias.

There's the sound of footsteps along the hall and she holds her breath. If it's him then he's back to finish the job. The door creaks open and she sees her sons, older than their years, one holding a cloth and the other a bowl of water.

"It's okay mum." The youngest whispers and kneels down beside her. His brother leaves the bowl of lukewarm water beside him and he dabs the cloth into the water. He squeezes the water out of the cloth and gently dabs his mother's cheek.

She gasps and he bites his lip; "I'm sorry mum."

"No I'm sorry." She whispers and cups her son's cheek. She's useless. Her children, all three of them are stuck liike her. They're only twelve, ten and three and yet one's petrified into silence, one takes on his father's role and the other is quiet and withdrawn.

She knows if she doesn't leave tonight, they'll all be dead.

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**jottings** — I haven't seen Inspector Wexford; Harm Done in a long while. if you like it enough to favourite/alert, please leave a review:3


	2. CHAPTER I

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**CHAPTER ONE**.  
_for the million ways you hurt me_.

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The clock strikes twelve and Fay glances around the now clean living room. She doesn't know what she'd do without her two boys, they've saved her life more times than she could recall. Back when she first met Stephen, she didn't want children but now she was a mother of three and she'd never change it for the world.

"Edward, Robert?"

Both boys turn to look at their mother, "Wake Sanchia and bring her to the dining room."

The boys nod, leave the living room and head up the stairs. They approach their sister's bedroom and walk inside. Downstairs, Fay dials a number that she hopes her husband won't trace. She orders a taxi under a fake name and practically begs the operator to get her one asap.

/

Robert, Edward and Sanchia all sit around the dining room table, nervous and thinking the worst. All three of them know that if their father comes home, each one of them will be dead.

"We're going on a little adventure." Fay says, "Somewhere far, far away where nobody can find us okay?"

All three nod and Fay has that funny feeling in her stomach, the feeling that everything's going to go wrong. She keeps telling herself that everything, e_verything_ will be okay, it has to be okay.

A car horn beeps outside and all three look at their mother terrified.

"It's gonna be okay." She smiles reasurringly, "Everything's going to be okay."

They leave the house and get into the taxi. She's aware that at any minute he might come home and catch them. Then what, a half-hearted apology for the behaviour of his _mentally-insane wife_ and another beating witnessed by their children?

She straps Sanchia in the middle of her brothers, kisses all three of her babies and sits in the front of the taxi.

"Oxford Railway station please." As the taxi's engine starts and leaves the street, Fay's aware of headlights in the opposite direction and she slides down her seat. The taxi driver knows what's happening. He's had too many cases like this, the abused wife leaving the husband in the middle of the night.

"It's alright love, he can't hurt you now."

/

She arrives at the station just after half-past twelve and she tries to give the driver a load of notes. He shakes his head, "No love this one's on me."

"You sure?"

He nods. He doesn't care for the money he just wants to be able to sleep peacefully, knowing she got away from her husband. He sees it written on her face, on her children's faces. They're scared of him, they're scared of every male around them.

He sighs. It's such a mess.

"Thanks." Fay whispers and he smiles, "Take care of yourself love."

She puts the notes back in her pocket, gets out of the cab and stares at the station. Now what? She thinks for a moment, looks down at her children and says; "Here we go, here's our adventure. Pick a place, any place and we'll go just there."

And for the first time in forever, she smiled.

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**jottings** — if you like it enough to favourite/alert, please leave a review:3


	3. CHAPTER II

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**CHAPTER TWO**.  
_to make yourself feel like a man._

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Robert picks first. He sees Birmingham on a map and decides that he wants to go there. Fay nods. They'll go anywhere as long as its away from this place, this nightmare they constantly live in.

She walks towards the ticket desk and leans against it, "Can I have an adult and three children to Birmingham please?"

The lady behind the desk prints off the tickets and Fay hands over the money. She's all too aware that this money isn't going to last forever and that in Birmingham they're going to have to find somewhere to live.

They sit in the station, huddled together, freezing cold. Sanchia's fallen asleep and Robert and Edward are exhausted. Fay kisses both their foreheads and tells them that on the train, they'll sleep. These boys, although older than their twelve and ten years, were still only children.

And they needed protecting just as much as Fay did.

The final train to Birmingham pulls up and they get on the train. The boys sit down and immediately, in the warmth, fall asleep. Fay doesn't sleep, she doesn't treat herself too. Instead, she watches over her children like a guardian angel.

/

When they reach Birmingham, she walks the oldest two up. They got off the train and stand in the middle of the station, wondering where to go next and where to stay for the evening. She follows the signs out of the station and into town, guided by the street-lights.

It's freezing and she shivers in the cold wind until she finds a B&B. She knocks on the door and looks at her children. She hopes there's room for them. The owner of the bed and breakfast opens the door and looks between the four,

"Sorry there's—"

"I don't care if there's only one bed, I'll sleep on the floor." She cuts him off. The owner looks closely and notices that she's covered in cuts and bruises and that her children are cold and feels sorry for them both. He presumes she's left a violent husband, hence the reason she's here.

She hands over thirty pounds and stares at the last purple note in her hand.

He always said she wouldn't get far without him. Maybe Fay thinks he's right, maybe she won't get far without him.

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**jottings** — if you like it enough to favourite/alert, please review:3


	4. CHAPTER III

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**CHAPTER THREE**.  
_you broke my world_.

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There's days when she's homeless, living on the streets that she wonders about going back home. Alright, he was an abusive bastard at times but at least Stephen cared about them. They had a _loving_ family unit, a warm house and more money than anyone could imagine.

She thought that by staying she'd die but the reality was, by living out here, in the big wide world; she'd die too.

One night there's a shooting star overhead and she closes her eyes and wishes, wishes that her life would get better and she wouldn't have to go back home. If she returned now, he'd definitely kill her. After all, what was stopping him?

There was nothing stopping him and then he'd turn his attention to her beautiful daughter.

Sometimes she wonders if they're all better off dead. Murder-suicide, that would be interesting. She could kill her children and then herself. That way they'd all be safe and Stephen would never have to hurt them again.

They wouldn't be cold and hungry either.

She's stood in the park in the morning, pushing her daughter on the swings whilst her son's climb trees and get dirty and do whatever it is children of that age do for fun. She's staring into space when a voice interrupts her thoughts.

She knows it can't be Sanchia, Sanchia doesn't speak.

"Mama?" The voice says again and she stops pushing. She walks in front of her daughter, kneels down and stares at her daughter. Sanchia makes eye contact with her mother, smiles brightly and whispers; "Mama?."

Fay smiles brightly, tears pooling down her cheeks. Her daughter at three years old has said her first ever word. Fay comes to the conclusion that no matter what happens, she'd rather be cold and dirty than _ever_ go back to that place.

Sanchia spoke and that was the beginning of the journey for them all. And to think it started with one word.

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**jottings** — if you like it enough to favourite/alert, please review:3


	5. EPILOGUE

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**EPILOGUE**.  
_the way i prayed._

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Six years ago, she was considered an abused wife. Now, she was happily married, carrying twins.

"There are many different forms of abuse from physical to emotional to sexual. Even with-holding money from your partner whether male or female can be considered abuse. My ex husband reguarly beat me up, often these beatings were in front of our children."

_"How long did the abuse go on for?"_

"Thirteen years, it started soon after we started our relationship."

Soon after Fay had wished on the shooting star, she got a job with the women's refuge. She was a speaker and often went around schools and colleges giving talks about what it was like being in an abusive marriage and how she left him.

With the money she earned, she rented a three bedroom house and managed to enroll her children into schools in the area. Robert, now eighteen had excelled in all subject areas and was now off to Edinburgh to study Forensic Psychology.

His younger brother Edward had struggled in school but was now in his final year and studying for his GCSE's. For the past three months, his behaviour had dramatically improved thanks to some help from his form tutor and head of year.

Sanchia. Wow, Sanchia was now a bright, intelligent nine year old. She was a chatterbox with a large personality and big heart. Fay couldn't be more proud of all three of them, especially after a difficult start in life.

As for the twins, one boy and one girl, she couldn't wait to do all the things she missed out on with the others. Looking back upon her life, she was glad she saw sense and left, if she hadn't, she's almost certain she'd have died. They'd have all died.

Now they were alive and beginning to live their lives how it should've been lived six years ago.

Free, happy and un afraid.


End file.
